Experts Say

The Worst-Kept Military Secret Ever: Israel Has Nuclear Weapons (But Does It Need Them?)

The National Interest
February 7, 2017
By Robert Farley

Since the early 1970s, Israel has informally maintained a nuclear deterrent. In order to prevent the activation of a variety of legal instruments that would disrupt Israeli relations with the United States and Europe, Israel has not acknowledged the program. It remains, however, the worst-kept secret in international politics.
But a country always has options. What if Israel had never developed these nukes? What impact would a different decision have had on Israelís security, and on regional politics more broadly?